Please Don't Take Him (Even Though You Can)
by TheLightBeforeWeLand
Summary: She should've known better than to think she could compete with Ally Marie Dawson. Hinted Auslly, Kind of onesided Austin/OC


**A stupid thing I wrote after listening to Jolene by Dolly Parton.**

 **Possible OOC**

* * *

Stacy sees the way he looks at her. When the smaller girl is around, he can't seem to take his eyes off of her. His eyes holds a look of tenderness, affection, and amazement and she knows he's never once looked at herself like that. She can't blame him, though.

Ally Dawson is beautiful.

She has these big, brown, beautiful eyes, and silky, caramel hair with soft curls reaching just at her shoulders. She has such a genuine personality, with the kindest smile to match, and it's no wonder Austin seems so enchanted by the girl. Stacy knows she can't compare.

Some people might call her foolish for being in a relationship with a man who clearly has feelings for another girl, even if he himself somehow doesn't realize it, but at the beginning of their relationship, she honestly had no clue how deep the bond between him and his songwriter went. She knew that the girl was Austin's best friend, and she didn't really think much of it at the time.

Now, she feels like an idiot for thinking anything less of the two music partners' relationship.

Admittedly, Stacy never really paid much attention to Austin Moon before they started going out. She knew he was famous, and she knew he went to her school, but she wasn't as fazed by it as everyone else. That was probably why he was drawn to her in the first place; she wasn't some obsessive fangirl.

It's when she finally makes an effort to get more into his career that she sees all of these interviews with her boyfriend and the girl he swears is just his best friend; interviews in which he stares at the girl so intensely and seems determined to stand or sit as close to her as possible. She also learns about _Auslly_ from reading the comment sections below, and sees videos of their "Cutest Moments" on YouTube, but when she mentions it to Austin, he brushes her off and says it's just the fans "goofing around".

She somehow doubts that's all there is to it, but he assures her and she brushes it out of her thoughts.

A couple of weeks into their relationship, when she starts hanging out with Team Austin & Ally—and when she herself starts feeling attached to the boy, she sees that the brunette and the blond have no worries over possibly making her feel uncomfortable with their closeness. The two stay talking with just each other for the entire outing and Stacy briefly wonders if Austin has forgotten about her existence until Ally excuses herself to use the restroom, and she finally has her boyfriend's attention for once that day.

"Are you okay?" Austin asks absently as he drums his fingers on the table at Mini's.

Stacy smiles, a fake one, but he doesn't seem to notice. "I'm great, thanks." Before she can say more, Ally returns, sitting right in between Stacy and Austin, and returning to her own conversation with the blond; leaving Stacy to awkwardly play with her silverware as Austin and Ally and Trish and Dez carry their own conversations.

Stacy's never felt more uncomfortable.

* * *

She knows it's a terrible thought, but sometimes it seems as though Ally, sweet as she can be, takes pleasure in reminding Stacy of her place when it comes to Austin. Not in a mean way because the girl's just too sweet to be rude; it's more subtle. Like when Austin enters the room, and Stacy swears she sees a smug little smile play on Ally's lips when she's the first to be greeted with a hug by the blond, or when they are on a date, and Ally _knows_ that, but will still call Austin about a new idea for a song, and the two end up speaking for most of their date.

Any other girl would have dumped a guy in a heartbeat if he did that, but it's _Austin_ , and he can be so sweet to her, and at three months into their relationship, Stacy's feelings for him are too strong to back out now. Once again, she tells him about her discomfort with him being so close to his partner, and again he brushes her off. He tells her she worries too much, and that he and Ally are just good friends.

Sometimes, she can't tell who he's trying to convince when he says that.

* * *

To try and ease her discomfort, Austin comes up with the brilliant idea for Stacy and Ally to hang out alone, which both girls reluctantly agree to, just for him. They make plans to go out to eat after Ally's concert, which makes Stacy even more uncomfortable because now she's reminded that the girl is not only beautiful and kind, but talented as well. Stacy went to many of Austin's shows, but not Ally's, so while she knew the girl was a talented pianist and singer, she didn't get to actually see that until Austin suggested she came with him, Trish, and Dez to see her perform.

It's at that point that she wonders why does it have to be Austin? Stacy looks at everyone in the audience going crazy for Ally, and she thinks back to all the boys in school that are attracted to her, and Stacy doesn't know why Ally can't just go for one of them. With her stunning looks and personality, Ally could probably have any guy she wants, so why does it have to be Austin? The first boy Stacy's ever felt so close to loving?

Stacy keeps that thought in her head as she sit across from Ally in some burger joint she doesn't even bother to learn the name of. They sit in silence; neither bothering to make any attempt at conversation for the first few minutes until Ally finally speaks.

"Thanks for coming to my show. I know you've never been to one of my concerts, and I'm glad you came tonight." She says this so sweetly, albeit a tad awkwardly, that Stacy smiles lightly and nods her head.

"No problem." Ally's phone buzzes, and she looks down and smiles.

"Austin wants to know how things are going." She explains at the other girl's questioning glance.

Stacy looks at her own phone, and can't help but feel a pang of jealously that he hadn't texted her. Wasn't this whole thing to make _her_ feel less awkward about Ally? Shouldn't he be checking in on her?

She wonders why she puts herself through this. She wonders why _they_ put themselves through this. They clearly have feelings for each other, so why masquerade as best friends or partners or whatever they claim to be? Why hadn't she backed out as soon as she saw how close they were; before she fell hard for him? Why did she think she could compete with the girl in front of her?

"Why him?" Stacy's eyes widen when she realizes what she's said, but she can't take the words back now.

Ally looks at her with a raised eyebrow. "Excuse me?" She looks confused, but she has an easy smile on her lips.

There's really no backing out now. "Why does it have to be Austin?" She asks slowly. At Ally's questioning glance, Stacy gets a bit annoyed. "I love him. He's my boyfriend, not yours." As soon as the words leaves her mouth, she feels terrible and almost apologizes, but Ally speaks first, looking her dead in the eye.

"Yes. But he's my best friend first." Stacy doesn't know what she expected her to say. Maybe for Ally to assure her that she doesn't have feelings for Austin; that she has nothing to worry about. Not this. There is no malice in Ally's voice, no hate. It's as if she's stating a fact. "I'm sorry if I make you feel uncomfortable, though. If you want me to back off-"

"It's not about you being close friends!" Stacy's voice gets higher, and she feels tears come to her eyes. The fact that Ally looks concerned for her somehow irritates her more because Stacy knows that Ally knows how she's been feeling these months. "I know you two feel strongly for each other, but please, don't take him from me." Her eyes are pleading, and Stacy hates that she's breaking down in front of Ally, and she hates that in such a short amount of time she's let herself get so attached to a boy.

She's waiting, just hoping that Ally will tell her she's wrong, but the girl is silent; she just stares at her with an expression Stacy immediately recognizes as pity, and that's when it becomes clear that, despite her being Austin's girlfriend, she is losing this battle, and Ally seems to know it. Nevertheless, the girl attempts to comfort her. "Austin does care about you, Stacy."

"But not as much as you." Stacy stoically states, and is not surprised when she gets no reply. "He really likes you." Still no reply. They both sit there in silence as they wait for their food; neither in the mood for conversation at this point. Ally goes back to looking at her phone, and Stacy resorts to staring out of the window, when she hears a familiar song playing on the radio in the back.

 _Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene_

 _I'm begging of you please don't take my man_

 _Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene_

 _Please don't take him even though you can_

* * *

 **May or may not continue this. If I did, it'd be Auslly, but then I'd need something to do with Stacy.**


End file.
